March Sister Challenge: Natalie


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When Lorene sent me a challenge for St Patrick’s Day, I had no idea what to do. The past month was a busy one… As a trustee of the Asbury Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade, I was busy helping to organize and run the first ever parade on March 9. I even made the prize ribbons and Grand Marshal sash.

Asbury Park St Patricks' Day ParakeI did some searches for Irish themed quilt blocks, but nothing really interested me. For some reason, I the thought popped into my head to do a Fibonacci Spiral… but then I realized Fibonacci isn’t even Irish. So I did a quick search for Irish Scientist and low and behold Robert Boyle, the grandfather of Modern Chemistry, topped the list. He proved the relationship between pressure and volume of gases, a cornerstone of my favorite chemistry topic, The Universal Gas Law.  Who doesn’t love the equation PV=nRT ?

The binding is gold tissue lamé, and it was free-motion quilted on my Singer Stylist.  Making this mini quilt was so much fun,  I hope it inspires others to make educational quilts!

Boyle's Law Quilt

Make sure to check out Lorene’s March Sister Challenge entry!!

WIP Wednesday – Mom’s Pants


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My current project os these grey slacks I’m making for my mom. She was complaining about how she can’t find pants that fit so while she was visiting we fitted a muslin and I sewed up these pants for her. I’m not sure I’ve ever made pants before!  So I am super proud of making my zipper placket!  They are actually 90% done.  They just need a hem and the button/buttonhole added, which my Mom will do since she took them back to NJ with her.

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How to Hem Jeans


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Hemming jeans sounded really complicated to me so I never tried it.  When I finally had to hem a pair of jeans I looked up some videos and found out its really easy and it looks really good! The key here is that you need to keep the original hem of the jean. Nothing looks more home sewn than a pair of jeans where the original hem was removed! I can spot that 20 feet away.

Looks good this close, looks even better fror 5 feet away.

Looks good this close, looks even better fror 5 feet away.

Step 1 – Determine how long you want your jeans by pinning up the hem. It can be good to have friend help with this so you aren’t constantly taking off your jeans to get a straight hem.  Measure the length you have pinned up. In this case I had pinned 2.5″ up meaning I would be removing that amount from the hem.

I totally forgot to take a photo of this before I started Step 2. Oops!

Step 2 – Divide the number you got in Step 1 (2.5″) by 2 = 1.25″.  With your jeans inside out fold up the hem – measuring that you have the length of fabric we just calculated between the inside edge of the hem and your fold.

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Step 3 – Using a similar thread color to your jeans and an edge stitching foot, if you have one, sew as close to the in side edge of the hem as possible. If the hem is wider than the leg at the place your are stitching, gently stretch the fabric to ease the hem in. These jeans are flared and I had no issues doing this.

The needle is positioned right next to the hem. You don't want to sew on the hem, so an edge stitching foot is useful.

The needle is positioned right next to the hem. You don’t want to sew on the hem, so an edge stitching foot is useful. Also note that the length of fabric to the right of the needle is the 1.25″ calculated in Step 2.

Step 4 – This step is OPTIONAL for serger owners.  You may want to remove some of the fabric we are hemming up because it’s bulky.  To do this I use my serger leaving about 1/2″ of fabric to the right of the new hem seam.  If you think you may want to adjust this hem in the future do not do this. If I didn’t have a serger I would not attempt this with my regular machine.

Step 5 – Flip the hem inside and press well. Pull down on the hem as you press to get a neat seam line.

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Step 6 – Secure the inside fabric by stitching in the ditch on your outside seam lines. Particularly if you skipped Step 4, this will prevent your excess fabric from falling down and being visible past your hem.

Look closely to see the lighter stitches to the right of the side seam. This securing the extra fabric.

Look closely to see the lighter stitches to the right of the side seam. This securing the extra fabric.

One warning – be prepared to press your hems every time you wash your jeans. One key to success is pressing your seams so the new seam line blends in with the original hemline. On freshly laundered jeans, the old hem tends to flip up along the new seam line.

Made in America


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Last week I was picking up a few notions at Joann Fabric and I was delighted to see this..

creating new traditions

100% Made in America quilting cottons in classic prints and modern colors by Fabric Traditions.  American made products are my Achille’s heel, and this fabric is no exception.  I’m using one of the fabrics in a quilt, and I just finished my Portfolio Shirt using a beautiful gray floral.

I hope this trend continues. Even though some sewing products are made in the USA (Pellon comes to mind), the majority of products we use are produced overseas. I’d even spend more on a product if its produced locally, but I don’t often get that opportunity.  I appreciate that Joann is highlighting this line and look forward to using the fabric in my next quilt.